lee matthew cheuk fai portfolio

Lee Matthew C.F. |1

Lee Matthew C.F.mcgill university | school of architecture

li po chun united world college of hong kong st. pauls co-educaitonal college

latimer hu architecte | montreal integrated design associates | hong kong

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Lee Matthew C.F. |3

anchorage | arctic research centre

the ring cycle | urban housing

association sportive et communautaire du centre-sud (asccs)

centre dhistoire de montreal

house of a baker | cultivate root

tectonic garden | concordia university student centre

latimer hu architecte | montreal

integrated desgin associates | hong kong

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Lee Matthew C.F. |5

anchorage | 66 33 44 arctic research centre

As the highest point in Nunavut, Alerts environment is harsh and varying. It experiences long periods of either sun or darkness. However, in conjunction with its settle topography, covered in layers of snow and ice, it is a majestic environment. Influenced by the structural form of a chair, specifically a solid curved back and seat supported by load bearing legs, the research center similarly shares these characteristics: A geometric, freeform solar-paneled, fibreglass shell lifted off by steel legs to sweep away collected snow beneath. The parabolic core acts as the heart of the research center, where power is stored, and above it, an open communal space. The program is distributed con-sidering the varying levels inherent in the form, thus a result from its graphic expression.

Lee Matthew C.F. |5

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a. Light study of the sun-path diagram at arctic to determine the placement of photovoltaic panel, reflector and glazing.

b. diagonal and longitudinal section of Anchorage. It showcases the continuous panel that create variation of height. The variation is designed according to the public domino and private sector of the living condition.

c. Study of the possible way in assembly of the modular system. To achieve economy in storage for transportation.

Lee Matthew C.F. |7

To respond to the arctic environment, the research center is geometric, constructed of carbon fiber, and raised by steel legs. A pre-fabricated, deployable, modular system made of carbon fiber structural insulated panels, Anchorage is lightweight and facilities transportation to the arctic for efficient construction. A solar panel system is integrated into the vast surface area of the shells surface, providing a self-sufficient energy source while creating a minimal footprint. The structural legs that lift the research center from the ground decrease snow build-up via a wind tunnel effect, thus sweeping away collected snow.

As researchers and inhabitants live in remoteness, the research center spatially counters this monotony by stimulating the psychological experience. The program is distributed considering the varying levels inherent in the form, thus a result from its graphic expression. The parabolic core acts as the heart of the research center where the main laboratory is located and where power is stored. Above is an open communal space for researchers where one may step below to their workspace with views of the landscape. On the top level, lodging is suspended from the curved wings of the shell where one can view the communal space below. These modules, although serve as independent units, are clustered to further communication within the research community while inserting a new topography within the environment.


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a. Study of joint detail between the parametric panels using additive manufacturing.

b. Scaled model of the foldable structure and the envelope shell of anchorage.

c. Detailed procedure of the prototype of the structural insulated panel. In the process, six-axis robotic arm is employed to create the curved insulation sandwich and the mould. Carbon fibre manufacturing is a layer by layer process creating structural meshes that combine resin and carbon fabric.


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c a. List of material and tool in prototyping the structural insulted panel modular.

b. Close up of the sandwich panel layer. The insulation is structurally braced between carbon fibre and fibre glass.

c. Photograph of the process in employing the six-axis robotic arm.

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a. low density foamc. high density foamb. fiberglassd. carbon fibere. peel-plyf. breatherg. vaccum bagh. gummy tabei. vaccume valvej. spray gluek. glossy sprayl. primer + hardenerm. epoxy resin + hardenern. mould release

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anchorage | prototype structural insulated panel


the ring cycle |urban housing

This project is a reinterpretation of Wagners famous opera, the Ring Cycle and primary respond to some of the pragmatic request from the client.

I divided the house programme into three layers similar to the background of Ring. They are Mythical, Mortal and Hell respectively. I visualize one was driven to navigate among the three world and I also imagining how the higher power communicate the three layers mediated using architectural language, triple stairs and ceiling high respectively.

At 6 feet below ground is the thinking space representing the the origin One is driven to seek for a higher power. Inhabiting the space underneath the stairs which represent Power in my earlier conceptual model. right next to this reflective space is a long hallway leading down to this spiritual, the sky light with the high wall conditioned the inhabitant at the stage of humility with the light shining through the steps. in contrast to the stairs divide in to three levels, this represent the direct radiant from the higher power above

Meditation | Wagner | Intellect | Community | Myth


Lee Matthew C.F. |15Lee Matthew C.F. |15

At the excavation is the performance space inspired by the Devils Violin. It is a string theatre performance speaking of a solider selling his soul to the devil for a violin. The audience are seated in rows on the steps. the backdrop of the performance is a series of curved used to caustic purpose. It also convey the idea of looking the earth beneath in a section. With the steps floating above and a thin slit of light shiny from the half-floor library sinking in from the ceiling, one is put a position of curiosity.

Jutting out between the dining area and the theatre is the library. It represent the intellect which is a medium of communication or understanding between the mortal and the upper power. Layers of shelves made of a variety of hardwood are arranged according to the colour gradient spectrum. Ascending from dark to light toward the third floor of the house.

Dining area is designed as a place of gathering. This is the clearest layer of the three in terms of lighting. Sunlight is allowed to enter the room directly. The dining area is connected with the library in a cliff and trough relationship. Guests are allowed to overlook into the library at the perimeter of the dinning area.

The mythical area was depicted with the photograph of my personal friends and roommates in my conceptual stage of study. Similar to fabric which represent the impression/ imprint of the subject it is covering over. The familiarity of the people in the picture is estrange to the viewer. Mythical character share the same essence. The private layer of the house is arranged as an assemble of partition and curtain in respond to such mythical nature. The architectural quality of the level will further be refined in plan.

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b. Scaled model of the house featuring the juxtaposition of the different zone and creating layer of urban windows.

c. Conceptual Model study of the spacial arrangement of the three layers. The single staircase is developed since the genesis of the project.

a. Axonometric drawing of the house referring the three layer of realm in the Wagners Musical Drama.


association sportive et communautaire

du centre-sud (asccs)

The Sports and Community Association of the South-Center of Montreal is a home away from home for this particular group of children. They came into the facility with their home key hanging around their neck after school. They receive personal tutorial care from volunteers who were once users of this service from the neighbourhood. Children can also get involved with extra-curricular activities after studying. Throughout the past 40 years, the association has grown from the phase 1 (high-lighted in green) to phase 2 & 3 (high-lighted in yellow and blue) with a standard 25m swimming pool to satisfy the need of the current community. Since it is a non-profit organization, majority of the activities are free of charge. The association is financially supported with the membership charges of the fitness centre integrated in the facility. In 2006, the association collaborated with the city of Montreal to build an integrated public library on the 3rd floor of the complex. The entire library was independently funded by the government. In 2013, the current association collaborated with Professor Vikram Bhatts U2 studio from McGill University School of Architecture to initiate the forth phase of extension. This set another mile-stone of the coming stage of development.


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a. Monsieur Yvon Deschamps is the president of association sportive et communautaire du centre-sud (asccs). The collaboration with McGill in this extension project is a way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the community centre.

b. Blue part for the longitudinal section is the extension of the fitness centre. Yellow part is the new office area. Green part is the classrooms with windows overlooking the swimming pool. Orange part is the newly introduced psychomotor room.

c. Ariel view of the extension featuring the cantilevering louver for natural light.

d. Exploded axonometric view of the new extension.


centre dhistoire de montreal The first settlers to North America

arrived by the Saint-Lawrence River. From that point on, a port was established on Montreals southern shore, and from the water a city emerged.

Water is reflective not only of the Old Port, but of the heritage of the Centre dHistoire de Montreal in particular. Before it became a historical centre, the Central Fire Station (Serne Centrale Pompiers) served as a necessity to the community because of the frequent fires that plagued the wooden structures. Water was an essential item to the function of the building. The power of water delivered from the station left an imprint on each aflame house, salvaging the structure from destruction.

To approach the question of using hydraulic as a force in the study of the faade, a parameter including a set of arches representing the fluidity of water was created. Using the loft function, a wavelike double curved structure is produced. The most dominant feature in the faade was the central roof lantern.

Therefore, in response to the bricks on the faade, the lantern is reduced and repeated in a modular of thirteen by four units. The lanterns are distorted according to the curve of the surface. The quality of the highly geometrical faade is maintained, yet the transmutation establishes a historical connection with the buildings original purpose.


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a. Axonometric drawing of the Montreal history centre which used to be a fire station.

b. Grasshopper code of the parametric model to recreate the facade of the building.

c. Showcases of different controls in manipulating the algorithm of the model

house of a baker | cultivate rootThe focus of this study is the cultivation of roots. Roots can be understood as ones origin. For me, personally, my ethnic root is Chinese. This is the reason why I wrote cultivate root in traditional Chinese on the concept panel. As you may know, Chinese is a figurative language where a character is an abstraction of culture and visualization of the value. The Chinese character of cultivate is composed of two words. On the left is wheat and on the right is heavy. The character heavy can also be understood as worthy. Therefore, the understanding of cultivation in Chinese culture originates and centre on the value of grain. This is the reason why I have chosen wheat as my cultivation.



I also see root as a convertor. It transforms the richness of the death into the fullness of life. Despite we figuratively say that the mature wheat field as a golden field; in the harvest season, wheat that is ready to be harvest is dry and brittle. It looks almost dead. Yet, we grind these grains into flour and make living bread. Hence, my project is a house of a baker.

Bakeries originated from the home-based bakery where the bakery is nothing more than an elaborated kitchen. However, according to the by-law, new construction of bakery ought to isolate from the living and sleeping space. This project takes on the challenge of integrating the working area into the living area without violating the by-law.


We can understand this house as a cross intersection of a bakery and a house. I attempt to draw parallels of the process of bread-making corresponding to different ways of living. From the plan, I put contrast of bedroom against the thawing preparation space of the bakery, where the dough is raised. I pair up the living space and the displaying space of the bakery. The intersection happens in the domestic kitchen and the baking area. It is exaggerated at the kitchen counter where the two working space share the same working table. It is separated with nothing more than a glass panel in between. One can distinguish the two by the width of the table in plan where

the domestic kitchenette table is 60cm while the professional baking counter is 1m wide. Nevertheless, the oven is the heart of the house and the bakery can be viewed from both inside the house and from the exterior without interruption.



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Similar to my conceptual suitcase used for the site study, this house can be understood as layers of rooms where one can understand the interior programme from the clarity expressed from the exterior. It is best represented form the southwest fascia where elevated steps are designed as part of the living space where the couple can sit casually around the kitchen. In contrast to the solid wall located at the kitchen which is anchored into the ground, the living area and the sleeping area cantilevering on the left and right, the house looks like as if it is floating on the wheat field. The difference in the levelling of the house and the bakery allow natural sunlight coming in from the north.

a. Sequential photography to showcase the suitcase site study project . The shoebox contain a sample the authentic soil and found objects at the site. It includes a licence plate and a gas pipe.

b. Presentation is drawn on a canvas to depict the process of making in bakery.

c. Section drawing of the house of a baker.

Lee Matthew C.F. |35Lee Matthew Cheuk Fai |35


tectonic garden | concordia university

student centreWe, collectively as a studio, are to investigate and test architectures capacity to construct collective identity by creating a psycho-geographical focus for Concordia Universitys downtown Montral community. The exploration is structured around the design of a new student center and residence configured as a high-rise tower located on the narrow site at the widening of Maisonneuve Boulevard at the Guy Street intersection. Conceptually, the point of departure for the studio is the thought that architectures main task is to interpret a way of life for our time, by serving a common ethos. By communitys ethos we mean the spirit presiding over the activities of a specific group; it has nothing to do with sustainable development or equality or social justice. By evoking it, we want to raise the following architectural questions: Can architecture interpret, give shape and bring to view a way of life? How can architecture regain its monumental power to aggregate a community, to return individuals to a whole? Can architecture build affective sites?

We aim to develop strategies that rigorously pursue relationships between affective environments and architectural techniques, investigating architectures specific range of expressive power. The semester will be staged in three interrelated and reiterative speculations that integrate both visual and non-representational strategies that will form the basis for the development of architectural proposals. Despite our exploring the spatial dimension of feeling, the project must reach the level of a comprehensive architectural studio, including clear solutions for programming, structure, envelope and mechanical services. Indeed: we envisage no clear separation between program, material, environmental conditions and the construction of atmospheres.


We propose an architecture of proliferating concrete columns and petals spread freely over the downtown campus of Concordia University. It is a monumental tectonic garden which provides unprescribed areas for play, learning, and communal activities as well as areas of personal reflection and rest. Our five massive column modules convey a strong sense of compression from above and of tension from below. They transform into circulation shafts binding together the floor plates which support public and private programs, alternating every floor. The columns pull away from their receptacle capitals, their spokes stretched to reveal a set of curious interiors within the ground small sanctuaries amidst the looming mega-structure. The network of openings gives porosity and light to the different levels of the building. Light penetrates from both above and under, directing the gaze both skywards and downwards much like the two-way mirror experience of our early sketches.


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a. conceptual drawing of how student interact with the architecture where the built form would interact with the human inhabitation. It showcases the dynamic relationship between the two bodies and the scar left behind as the aftermath.

b. Diagram of the the entry of the lecture hall where students would walk down the steps along the pedals structure into the core of the building.

c. Detail plan of the private sector of the student complex. The pedal is divided into sleeping pods radially.

Two qualities permeates our selected image: a sense of compression when the image is viewed right side up and a feeling of mass in tension when viewed upside down. The curious forbidden space in-between became one of the key focus of our exploration. In our rendering, we expanded the field and consequentially revealed the inhabitation potential of that forbidden space within the columns and their crown. We discovered a way to integrate the crowns with the plate, while the columns pierce through multiple layers in order to generate a labyrinth. In response to the site conditions, we studied three variations of the column-and-crown relationship at different scales. First, we proposed a single tower. At ground, the shaft adapts to the typography and then rise up in the air, the bundles meeting mid-way and detaching from each other. Second, we reduced the scale to create an urban oasis, the building pulling up, as it were, the ground into layers and creating clearings on the North, East and West respectively. Finally, a third and definitive version synthesized the first two.

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a. Atmospheric drawing of the column structure

b. Night view of the Tectonic Garden from Rue Maisonneuve

c. Early programmatic drawing of the student complex

tectonic garden | concordia university

student centre


latimer hu architecte | montreal

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ca,b Detail digital model of Ottawa Chinese Baptist Church

c,d Exterior rendering the new extension of Ottawa Chinese Baptist Church

e Interior rendering of the channel of Ottawa Chinese Baptist Church

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Latimer Hu Architecte |Montreal, Canada

integrated design associates | hong kong

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a a,c Night view of the residential development on Davis street

b. Scaled model of the residential development on Davis street

d. Photoshopped elevation of the hotel development on Jervios Street

e. Photoshopped plan of the club house of the residential development on Davis street

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Integrated Design Associates | Hong Kong, PRC

Lee Matthew C.F.As a grandson of a tailor and a son of a watchmaker, Matthew was brought up with the sensitivity of an artist and the skillfulness of a craftsman. Although he was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, he was raised and educated in Hong Kong SAR, China since the age of five. Matt was exposed to the world of music through piano, percussion, and mixed-voice choir, and his further training as a budding trilingual musician at St. Pauls Co-educational College consisted of majoring in mathematical science.

While retaining roots in the rich soil of Chinese cultural tradition, Matthew has craved participation in the multiethnic cosmopolitan world ever since opening his eyes to the effects of globalization. At the age of 16, he pursued his International Baccalaureate Bilingual Diploma in Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong (LPCUWC). With a strong emphasis on celebrating cultural diversity, he has put personal ideals into motion, working to grow diverse communities via International Service Projects, where Matt was encouraged to initiate conversations and become personally involved with social justice issues. In 2008, along with Chishio Furukawa, Matthew founded and organized the Sino-Japan Youth Conference, aiming to reconcile the Sino-Japanese relationship through educating youth with the potential of becoming ambassadors of new generations.

Pursuing his passion and curiosity while embracing multiculturalism, Matthew was drawn to the avant-garde ideas and the activist spirit of the city of Montreal. He entered McGill University, in Montreal, Canada as a Biochemistry student, but became unsettled with the pursuit of the natural sciences in his initial years of study. In 2010, Matthew took the risk of transferring from the sciences to a faculty where he glimpsed the promise that his whole gifts and passions might be utilized: Architecture. His hopes came true. Through phenomenal discourse on the interaction between sensation and thought, Architecture students at McGill have the opportunity to explore similar relationships of dynamic poetry, and work to achieve synthetic relationships between the practical, metaphysical, subliminal and tangible, thereby transposing buildings from mere commodities to true architecture. In addition to being inspired by his studies, Matthew became highly involved in a cross-cultural, grassroots publication, Independent Skies Magazine, during the course of being enrolled in his last year of architectural studies, at the same time, achieving 4.00 GPA in the 2014 Winter semester.

lee matthew cheuk fai portfolio

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